LINK is now over, really over. What I thought would be horrible my first day turned out to be something I never wanted to end. Leaving the last day was hard, my coworkers got me a card and cupcakes which was very sweet of them. I have to say that my three weeks at Chimera were the best of my life. I realized my passion, graphic design. I was independent and feel that I learned a lot about myself. I can flourish on my own and take care of myself, I will be ready when I leave for college. I know now that I truly enjoy the work environment within which my field of work takes place. Before internship, I truly wasn't sure which path I wanted to pursue in my life and that terrified me. Upon my first day, not being sure if I would like where I was, scared me more than I can express. Leaving next year for college and having to decide my life course is scary. My internship taught me to keep trying, not get discouraged if things don't go how I expected, and no msatter what happens I will be ok. Being on my own for three weeks made me nervous but I have discovered that I will be ok on my own and am very excited for my future full of the things I love. I am grateful for my Internship for so many reasons, it has set me on my path to success.
Well week two sure went by fast. I have discovered that my initial plan of creating a website for Cuckoos as well as the menu may not be possible in the time I have. Only one more week... The web hosting service that Cuckoos was using until yesterday did not support the use of Wordpress to create and edit a new website. Let me tell you it was a pain to even figure that out, multiple calls, multiple emails, and still no answers. Extremely frustrating when you are in a time crunch. Finally the IT guy for Chimera, Mark, was able to call and finally get answers. When another girl, Cassidy, and I tried to call the man treated us as though we knew nothing (we are both fairly new to this website building process) which wasn't very good customer service. In the end the answer that took so long to get was that what we were trying to do is impossible using this web hosting service. Which led to the process of switching Cuckoos to Bluehost so that we could use the desired program in order to make a new and improved stunning website. Of course this came with a whole new set of obstacles. However in the end I am back at square one with a new web hosting service with a week left to complete my objective, as well as finalize the new menu. I've learned that there is a lot more that goes into creating a website from scratch than I knew. I have also learned that no matter what the situation, when you are dealing with a client never treat them with the slightest disrespect, never. A little kindness goes a long way, while I have known this I didn't fully understand its implications in the business world. LINK is going by so fast, I am not ready for it to end.
To start off my first week of course was the first day. The first day at my internship worried me, I didn't fall in love with the job right away. In fact after my first day I was sure that I wasn't going to enjoy my time there. This truly scared me as this was what I went into LINK believing I would be doing for the rest of my life, I didn't really have a back up plan. I went home that first day so scared and worried about what I would do, this possibility never crossed my mind. Terribly nervous I went back the next day with the materials I needed to begin my project, creating a new menu for cuckoos as well as a website. I was determined to find the good in the situation, and I did. Low and behold that next day was the start of a truly amazing internship at Chimera. My whole week was a whirlwind of fun., learning a new program, working with amazing people, and the beginnings of something I can truly be proud of. While that first day was terrifying, I realized that it was simply because I hadn't truly dove in yet, I just got my feet wet and the water felt cold. This first week has taught me to always go into things with an open mind about what could happen and don't make a decision about something the first time you experience it. I already know that these three weeks will be some of the best of my life.
After months of searching for the perfect LINK Internships, and a few major changes in plans I found Chimera, a locally owned graphic design firm in Durango CO.. My mentor is Nancy Brockman, owner of Chimera, and I am very excited to learn more about web design as well as the business end of this kind of marketing. Since freshman year Digital Arts class with Roxy I have wanted to be a graphic designer. Since then I have done many projects using this medium both for school and personal work, now I am excited to see how this business works and what everyday would look like to see if I truly want to make this my career.
For my project throughout my internship I have decided to design and create a new website for Cuckoo’s Chicken House & Waterin’ Hole as well as design a new menu for this business. This is real world work that this company does on a daily basis and I am very enthusiastic about being a part of the company. To prepare for both my project and internship I have been doing both tutorials and research on WordPress and In Design, programs Chimera uses a lot and that I will be using extensively while there. Setting up my internship was a long, and in the end stressful endeavor. Originally I was supposed to go out of town for my LINK and had formed plans to do so until they fell through. After that things came down to very last minute, I was beginning to worry that I would end up being the only Junior without a place to go. However in the end there was a huge feeling of relief and excitement after contacting Nancy at Chimera. I FINALLY HAD MY INTERNSHIP! I am now very very excited to be working with the team there and designing my project. While slightly nervous and a little scared I am more than excited for my internship, whether I end up enjoying my time there or not I know it will be an amazing experience and opportunity. The next week and a half can’t go past fast enough! |
Hailey Redding
Junior at Animas High School, Durango CO. Archives |